Sudden Enlightenment will present Beyond the DMZ, a dance/theater work which
documents the history and tragedy of the division of Korea more than fifty
years, August 17-20 in the air-conditioned Poet's Den, 309 East 108th Street.
Choreography is by Hey Jeong Yoon and concept is by Eun Hee Kim, artistic
director of Sudden Enlightenment. The New York performances will be followed by
a season at the Korean National Theater in Seoul, where both women were born
and raised, and in Berlin.

The story is told through taped dialogue, photo projections, and the
choreography of Hey Jeong Yoon, performed by an ensemble of New York-based dancers.
Though centering on Korea, the work reflects the heartbreak and loss from
tragedies around the world, which have caused the destruction of countries and
families. In Beyond the DMZ, vignettes include a traditional Korean funeral
ceremony, a darkly satirical "War is Beautiful" section performed to a lilting
waltz interspersed with news items, and a moving scene of individuals displaying
pictures of friends or family members, hoping to find them or someone with
news about their loved ones.

Founder/Artistic Director Eun-Hee Kim has a background that ranges from
acting and directing a wide variety of plays, including "Our Town," "Bourgeois
Gentilhomme" by Moliere, and "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." A South Korean
and avid student of history, Ms. Kim also created "Dreams of a Picture Bride,"
a unique work about Korean mail-order brides to Hawaii, presented in New York
at Theater for the New City in 2002 and at the Smithsonian Institute in
Washington D.C. the following year.

Notes on Beyond the DMZ, written by Eun-Hee Kim

On August 15, 1945, Japan unconditionally surrendered to the allies. The
Second World War ended and Korea was freed as a Japanese colony, but the joy of
liberation did not last long. Korea was divided in two: the U.S. army was
stationed in South Korea, and the Soviet Army occupied North Korea. Two
independent governments were established in South and North Korea, from the boundary
of
38 degrees of north latitude. The tension between the two parts of Korea
intensified. On June 25, 1950, the Korean War broke out with the invasion by
North Korea, supported by China and the Soviet Union.

The war lasted for over three years. Even at its end, Korea remained divided
by the DMZ, an area two kilometers wide from 38 degrees of north latitude,
an area of 155 miles.

The most tragic fact is that countless families were separated because of the
war. Today, the separated family members in South Korea numbers millions,
and family members in North and South are not allowed to meet, exchange news,
letters, or telephone calls.

In 1983, South Korea initiated a campaign called "Search for Separated Family
Members," which gained nationwide attention. An emotional gathering took
place in Yoido Square, where people gathered to look for friends and family, or
learn news of their whereabouts.

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